Crypto king who allegedly kidnapped bitcoin millionaire left trail of debts before landing in NYC, becoming big-spending club fixture

New York Post

2 days ago

The crypto bigwig accused of sadistically torturing an Italian businessman for his Bitcoin password left a trail of debt in his wake before landing in the Big Apple – where he became known in the club scene as a hard-partying big spender, The Post has learned.
William Duplessie, 33, owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury homes and cars in Florida and wracked up criminal trouble in Switzerland for allegedly beating his fiancée, according to public records and law-enforcement sources.
But those legal woes apparently didn't slow down Duplessie's hedonistic lifestyle once he started shacking up in a posh SoHo townhouse with fellow crypto trader John Woeltz, 37, sometime after arriving in New York City in February, the sources said.
8 The duo's extravagant lifestyle has come under scrutiny as details emerge about the harrowing ordeal Carturan endured in a SoHo townhouse.
TMZ / BACKGRID
'It's a frat house for crypto bros,' one source said.
The hulking Duplessie became a regular at chic hot spots such as the The Box — an exclusive erotic nightclub where photos obtained by The Post showed him partying shirtless — and often roped socialites and fellow clubbers to his pad for parties.
The glitzy façade came crashing down May 23, when a barefoot Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan — a 27-year-old crypto millionaire from Italy — ran from the Prince Street townhouse and told a traffic cop that he had been held captive inside.
Carturan had been subjected to horrific tortures — including being Tased while standing in water and cut by a chainsaw — over nearly three weeks in a bid to gain his Bitcoin password, prosecutors said.
Woeltz, a seemingly mild-mannered Kentucky crypto king worth $100 million, was quickly arrested and ordered held without bail.
8 William Duplessie walking out of the NYPD 13th pct in cuffs, going to central booking.
William Farrington
But Duplessie remained on the loose, allegedly partying it up in the Hamptons over the Memorial Day holiday weekend before he surrendered to cops Tuesday, according to sources. He, too, is being held without bail on charges that include kidnapping and assault.
Many details about the depraved scheme remain unclear, as do certain specifics about the alleged sick suspects' backgrounds.
But court records from Miami, Florida, where Duplessie hails from, outline a spate of eye-watering debts he had allegedly racked up over extravagant purchases.
His former landlord sued him in 2023 for failing to pay $234,000 in rent and a security deposit on a swanky, palm-shaded home in Miami's Brickell neighborhood, a hub of crypto investors where peacocks walk the streets.
8 William Duplessie, 33, owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury homes and cars in Florida and wracked up criminal trouble in Switzerland for allegedly beating his fiancée.
chris Bott for Dailymail.com
The home was left in 'much physical disrepair,' the lawsuit noted.
Neighbor Sylvia Rayneri said her daughter used to own the home before selling it to the landlord who rented it to Duplessie.
She was shocked to hear about its connection to the alleged torture case.
'I don't remember this guy,' she said Wednesday. 'That's so crazy. Mostly it's families who rent this place. I remember in that year sometimes hearing music, but nothing crazy.'
Duplessie faced another 2023 lawsuit for allegedly failing to make his $3,700-a-month lease payments on a 2018 Lamborghini Huracan — a flashy sports car with a price tag starting at $210,000.
8 The Italian businessman was allegedly held captive inside this Prince Street townhouse.
Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed within days of filing, records show.
A source in Palm Beach's society scene said Duplessie hung out in the wealthy enclave during its peak winter season during February or March, 'with the pretty young set going to places like Mary Lou's and trying to make business contacts.'
Another source said they spotted both Duplessie and Woeltz at Mary Lou's, a hip nightclub in West Palm Beach.
'William (Duplessie) was wilder and the other guy was quieter,' the source said.
Duplessie's ambitions — and legal troubles — apparently extended far outside sunny Florida.
8 John Woeltz and William Duplessie were regulars at NYC's exclusive nightclub The Box, reportedly spending up to $100,000 a night on champagne and burlesque shows.
TMZ / BACKGRID
He has a potential criminal conviction in Switzerland, where he had founded the Pangea Digital Asset Group and Pangea Blockchain Fund, prosecutors revealed during his arraignment.
Sources said Duplessie had been accused of beating up his fiancée there.
A final Miami-Dade County lawsuit against Duplessie was filed in December by a motorist who contends the crypto big crashed a Porsche into his car, injuring him.
The summons for Duplessie, however, couldn't be served because the court didn't have his latest address: 38 Prince Street.
Duplessie and Woeltz started showing up in New York City's wild club scene in February, sources said.
8 Another source said they spotted both Duplessie and Woeltz at Mary Lou's, a hip nightclub in West Palm Beach.
Michael Nagle
A passerby outside the Prince Street home — which law-enforcement sources said was being rented out for between $30,000 and $40,000 a month — said Duplessie was a regular at Gospël, a SoHo house music bastion.
'I've seen him drop $160,000,' the passerby said.
Another source said Duplessie would spent $100,000 on tables at The Box and Hearsay, an exclusive Meatpacking District club.
During bleary late nights partying, Duplessie spun tales about working for the CIA, sources said.
8 Police at 5th Precinct investigating the alleged torture incident that took place inside a posh four-story house at 38 prince Street in SoHo.
Paul Martinka
One party photo depicting three bottles of Ace of Spades champagne — a brand owned by Jay-Z — was taken in Nebula, a cavernous Midtown mega-club.
'They were spending lots and lots of money on Ace of Spades,' one source said. 'We kept watching more and more bottles coming in such a short time. William was in pajamas.'
The signs of decadent boozing could be seen — and heard — outside the Prince Street townhouse.
Neighbors called in three separate noise complaints about partying early April 5, 311 data shows.
A SoHo street vendor who called himself 'Dutch' said he regularly spotted Woeltz cart plastic bags full of empty liquor bottles to the sidewalk.
'I am talking maybe 50, 60 bottles — wine, vodka,' Dutch said. 'Big bottles in plastic bags on the sidewalk.
8 Suspect John Woeltz is taken by Police from Manhattan's 5th Precinct to Manhattan Central Booking.
David Burns
'I'd look through the garbage, because I know they were wealthy. There (was) food, but not as much as liquor bottles.'
The pair's glamorous assistant Beatrice Folchi, 24, had been a bottle girl at The Box, sources said. Folchi had been arrested after Carturan's escape, but Manhattan district attorney's officials declined to prosecute pending further investigation.
When reached by The Post Wednesday at her Chelsea address, Folchi only repeated, 'I can't talk.'
— Additional reporting by Desheania Andrews